Portable resuscitator unit



June 2, 1970 H. c. FLOWER ET 3,515,135

PORTABLE RESUSCITATOR UNIT Filed May 22, 1968 INVENTOR. HENRY C. FLOWER & STANLEY G. RUgRMAN WW ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,515,135 PORTABLE RESUSCITATOR UNIT Henry C. Flower, 88 Godfrey Ave., Bayville, N. 11709, and Stanley G. Ruderman, 38 Jamaica Ave., Plainview, N.Y. 11803 Filed May 22, 1968, Ser. No. 731,168 Int. Cl. A62b 7/00 US. Cl. 128145.6 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A portable resuscitator unit having combined in it inhalator and mucus removal structures forming a completed unit capable of being operated by any source of electric potential.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION People who have stopped breathing require forced breathing if they are to live. Since available oxygen and breathing apparatus are relatively bulky and cumbersome and usually have electrical requirements that preclude battery operation, they are not readily available for emergency field use. The usual emergency situation involves a victim who has stopped breathing or is having extreme difliculty in breathing and who may also have mucus or other liquid accumulation in the mouth and throat areas. Standard emergency procedure is mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation is an inherently unsatisfactory procedure in that it permits infection of the person carrying out the procedure with a contagious disease that the victimmay have or may be carrying. It is also unsatisfactory in that it is best performed by two people, one to carry out the actual mouthto-mouth breathing and a second person stimulating the heart by pressing the chest. There is a need for a compact portable apparatus to help a person breathe or to institute breathing in emergency situations, and that is capable of use by a single operator.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a compact portable resuscitator having combined in its inhalator and mucus removal structures. The resuscitator may be used to aid or start breathing by application of the inhalator means. It may also be used to remove mucus or liquid from a sick or injured person whether or not such person requires resuscitation. The invention further provides the advantages of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation without the accompanying disadvantages.

DRAWINGS The figure is a perspective drawing illustrating the combined inhalator and mucus remover.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The combined inhalator and mucus remover generally identified by the numeral 10 is driven by an electric motor 12 coupled to a rotary pump 13. Both the motor and pump are encased in a cylindrical housing 11 with the motor in the rear portion and the pump in the front portion. The housing 11 has a small base 14 permitting it to be positioned on a flat surface without rolling or other movement.

The motor has an external electrical cord connection 16 terminating in plug 17. The motor is preferably adapted to be run by a 12 volt automobile battery, however, as the description proceeds it will be clear that any other equally convenient source of electrical potential may be used. Thus, the same 12 volt direct current motor could be run from any convenient household line by connecting an AC transformer with a rectifier ahead of it in a house line. Although a 12 volt direct current motor is preferred because of the wide availability of 12 volt batteries, obviously other motors could be used to operate the pump.

Pump 13 is started by operation of switch 15 and supplies air to a face mask 18 through a pump air outlet 20 and flexible air tube 19. Valve 21, positioned between air outlet 20 and air tube 19, is in the normally open position to allow air to flow from the pump 13 through the air tube 19 to the face mask 18 when the inhalator is in operation. The pump 13 receives its supply of air through an air inlet tube 23 connected to an air inlet port 22.

The air inlet port 22 is part of a 3-way valve 24 connected between the air inlet tube 23 and a flexible suction tube 27. When the valve 24 is in its closed position, as illustrated, the connection between tubes 23 and 27 is closed and the tube 23 is vented to the atmosphere to receive air through the inlet port 22, as aforedescribed.

The inhalator is operated by connecting the plug 17 with a source of electrical potential. In practice, it has been found that such source may be the cigarette outlet of a police or ambulance vehicle responding to the emergency situation. The motor switch 15 is turned on and the face mask 18, which is preferably made of a resilient and flexible plastic material, is lowered and held over the victims face to force air into the victims lungs. The face mask 18 is then raised and at the same time the heel of the hand of a person operating the inhalator is pressed against the victims chest to force the victim to exhale. The covering of the face with the face mask and its subsequent removal, together with the act of pressing on the chest, is carried out in the same rhythm as would be used in mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. This procedure is preferably carried out until the victim begins to breathe naturally.

The pump 13 may be equipped with a pressure relief valve 25 to avoid the danger consequent to malfunction of the pump resulting in build-up of excessive pressure. The pressure relief valve is also useful to prevent excessive pressure build-up in the victims lungs should the face mask be held over the victims mouth for a protracted period of time.

Many victims found in emergency situations in need of resuscitation or of a breathing aid, accumulate liquid, mucus or other foreign matter in the throat and mouth areas. This prevents air entry and impedes and often prevents successful resuscitation unless it is removed. The combined inhalator and mucus removal unit 10 functions to remove such foreign matter. This is accomplished by inserting a suction tube tip 26 into the victims mouth and/or throat to remove the foreign matter.

When the combined inhalator and mucus removal unit 10 is used to remove mucus, the three-way valve handle 21 is turned from its open position to close off access between the air tube 19 and the pump 13 and to open or vent the exhaust port 28 to the atmosphere. This closes off the line or tube 19 but now permits the pump to discharge air through line 20 to vent 28. The three-way valve 24 is then turned from its illustrated closed position to its open position thereby completing an air passage between tube 23 with suction tube 27. The closing of the valve 24 simultaneously closes air inlet port 22.

With the valves 21 and 24 set as described above, operation of the pump 13 now creates a suction at the suction tip 26 which is connected to pump 13 through an aspirator 29. The aspirator 29 contains a trap 30 and an aspirator inlet valve 31. The degree of suction applied at the end of suction tube 26 is controlled by the valve 31. When the valve 31 is closed, maximum suction is applied. This may be unduly large and might cause injury to the victim. Hence, controlled opening of the valve 30 enables air to be introduced into the aspirator 29 thereby resulting in a variation in the force of the suction through the tube 26 as a consequence of the aspirator action rather than as a direct suction from the pump 13.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that the described three-way valves 24 and 21 could be replaced by simple on-olf valves. The air inlet vent or ports 22 and 28 of valves 24 and 21 respectively could be functionally replaced with appropriate port and vent valve structures in the pump housing.

While there has been shown and described and pointed out fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the device described and illustrated and in its operation may be made by those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the claims appended hereto.

We claim:

1. A combined portable inhalator and mucus removal unit comprising a motor driven air pump having an air inlet and an air vent, valve means controlling said air inlet and said air vent;

a face mask adapted to be placed over the mouth and nose of a person to whom the air inhalator is applied, a first connecting means connecting said face mask to said pump;

a mucus suction tip, a second connecting means connecting said mucus suction tip to said pump; and

valve means operable to cause said pump to draw air in through said air inlet and pump air through said face mask, and to draw through said mucus suction tip by drawing air through said means connecting said mucus suction tip to said pump and venting air through said air vent.

2. The combined portable inhalator and mucus removal unit of claim 1 containing;

an air exhaust port in said first connecting means,

a first dual functioning valve in said first connecting means which when in the open position permits passage of air from said pump to said face mask through said connecting means and which when in the closed position disconnects said face mask from said pump and connects said pump to said air exhaust port,

an air inlet port in said second connecting means,

a second dual functioning valve in said second connecting means which when in the open position permits passage of air through said second connecting means to said pump and which when in the closed position does not permit. passage of air through said second connecting means to said pump and connects said pump to said air inlet port,

whereby when said second valve is in the closed position and said first valve is in the open position, the pump draws air in through said air inlet port and pumps air through said first connecting means to said face mask, and when said first valve is in the closed position and said second valve is in the open position, said pump draws air through said second connecting means and vents it through said air exhaust port.

3. The combined portable inhalator and mucus removal unit of claim 2 wherein said second connecting means contains an aspirator positioned between said mucus suction tip and said second valve, whereby said combined portable inhalator and mucus removal unit becomes a combined portable inhalator and aspirator.

4. The combined portable inhalator and aspirator unit of claim 3 wherein said aspirator contains a trap for liquid and solids.

5. The combined portable inhalator and aspirator unit of claim 4 wherein said aspirator contains a control valve to control the force of suction applied through said mucus suction tip.

6. The combined portable inhalator and aspirator unit of claim 5 wherein said first connecting means and said second connecting means are flexible tubes.

7. The combined portable inhalator and aspirator unit of claim 6 wherein said motor is a direct current motor operated by a 12 volt line.

8. The combined portable inhalator and mucus removal unit of claim 1;

a first valve in said first connecting means to open and close said first connecting means to the passage of air, and

a second valve in said second connecting means to open and close said second connecting means to the passage of air.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,301,781 11/1942 Higbee l28278 2,914,064 11/ 1959 Sandelowsky 128145.6 2,967,525 1/1961 Stoffregen et a1 128-276 3,066,672 12/1962 Crosby et al 128-276 3,262,446 7/1966 Stoner 128145.7 3,323,521 6/1967 Isk 128145.6 3,435,822 4/1969 Ziermann et al 128--145.6

ADELE M. EAGER, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 128-276 

